My virtual meet and greet with Damon Hill

When Damon Hill became a Williams F1 ambassador, I didn't know much about him. Sure, I knew he was the 1996 world champion, I even knew he was one of two world champions whose father was also one (the other is Nico Rosberg, thanks for asking), but that was about it. Then he was a guest on Team Torque, he appeared in an interview with James Vowles, where neither was willing to take on the role of the interviewee, and he became the face of Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026, celebrating the 30th anniversary of his championship, and I found out more and more about him - and I absolutely adored every single bit of it!

Obviously, I don't see him the same way most F1 fans do, who watched him on track. I see him as a nice gentleman, funny and enthusiastic, with his own brand of self-deprecating humour. If I were to summarise him in two words, I'd say he's very British. And I love it!

Just two days before the events, I published a post on BlueSky starting with the words "Have I mentioned how much I love Damon Hill? Not yet today? Oh, well, here you go!" - to think I had absolutely no idea what would happen in just a few days!

Let's talk about the event for a bit. Ever since I became a Williams fan, the team has been organising exclusive virtual Q&As for their fans, and misunderstandings over expectations are a constant source of disappointment among some fans, even to this day - mostly due to the fact that the term "virtual Q&A" is used for two very different types of events: huge livestream Q&As and genuine meet-and-greets. Having attended plenty of the former, I naturally assumed this was another large-scale event. I was in for a surprise!

I didn't realise until T-10 minutes that it was a proper meet-and-greet. Sure, there were some signs, but I just dismissed them until I tried to log in 20 minutes before the event, and I got a message saying it hadn't started yet (usually, they let people in the online space earlier). But whatever, I tried again in 10 minutes and it worked.

I was greeted with a screen that was completely different from what I was used to. I was informed I was fourth in line and asked to join the room. That was when it dawned on me that this was really happening - that I was going to talk to Damon Hill - and I was so underprepared! Since I expected a non-interactive event, I didn't have questions lined up, I didn't notify my family not to bother me, and I wasn't even decently dressed!

Cue me rummaging through the house trying to find my Williams Racing t-shirt that I had bought for the Hungarian GP two years ago, failing, panicking and finally realising that I do have something in close proximity that is technically acceptable for this occasion. Those of you who follow me on social media will know that I chose the morning of the same day to finally try on the Williams F1 training kit, and that I loved it so much that I instantly posted it, even on X, which I hadn't used in a while. Here's the thing, tough: I didn't just try it on; I used it. The t-shirt was sweaty and smelly, but it's not like it would be noticeable through the camera, so I put it on - because if I was going to talk to Damon Hill, I was going to have at least the appearance of proper attire. With that done, I entered the virtual room.

Other than the participants, there was one event staff member who ensured the communication channels worked in both directions before sitting back and letting us vibe while we waited for the last of the five participants to log in. Huge thanks to Janine - I think that was the fan's name, I might be wrong, I'm sorry - who kept the conversation flowing. I wish I could have been more active, but I was busy setting up my environment. I don't know why, but a salad bowl in the picture bothered me so much that I ended up switching rooms.

The debrief was simple: one by one, we get two minutes with Damon Hill, we can ask questions, so make sure to prepare some, and we would get a digital autograph. Simple, understandable, manageable. The room got silent as we waited - a bit longer than expected, but no Q&A in the history of Williams virtual events have started on time, so I would have been more worried if this one did. Another fan popped on screen just to thank the team for this opportunity; it was lovely. Then I just watched as the others got digitally pulled out from the room one by one, until it was my turn.

I thought it was a nice touch that my mic and camera were automatically turned on, so I didn't have to do it manually, because I would have gotten flustered and messed it up. There I was, face-to-face (at least virtually) with 1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill.

"Hi, Rebus! Where are you from?" he greeted me. Knowing I didn't have much time, I responded quickly and immediately jumped to my first question. I wish I had an insightful or thought-provoking one like those I used to submit to the Vowles Verdict (at least back when it was good), but the thing about world-class athletes is that they have enough experience and media training that they don't need these profound questions. All they really need is a setup, and they can take it from there.

I asked him about Goodwood. He said he was looking forward to it, asked if I was going, and he even revealed a piece of information that is not necessarily public - not that it's a secret, but I haven't seen it mentioned before, so I will keep it to myself. Then we got to the most memorable part, where he made a self-deprecating joke, and I can only describe my response as accidental flirting (hey, in my defence, he is a very charming man!).

Specifically, he said the downside of being reunited with his car from 30 years ago is that the car still looks the same while he does not (it was better in his delivery, but I don't remember the exact quote). The immediate gut-response that I blurted out was "You still look very good, Damon!" - more as a disagreement to his previous statement than as a starstruck fan. I immediately felt ashamed - not so much because of the compliment, but because I called him by his first name. He is a Formula One legend I had the absolute privilege of talking to, and I called him Damon like we're best friends! I will say I am now feeling better about it since I realised how many times he had called me Rebus, but at that point, I was not proud of myself.

To my relief, he appreciated my response. Not only did he laugh and thank me, but he also turned to a person off camera, joking, "We should have her back!" - so if anyone asks, the official story is that I have made such a good impression on Damon Hill that he invited me back, he-he.

Then came the autograph - or to be a little more precise, it didn't. I don't want to dwell on this too much; there were technical issues, and I didn't get one. I don't really mind because the experience itself matters to me so much more than having a file with his signature on my computer.

Instead, he asked for my next question. Readers of this not-a-blog (so all three of you) will not be surprised: What do you think about James Vowles as team principal? He assured me he thought he was good and told me the job was hard, but by then, we ran out of time.

To my surprise, he said, "I don't know how to say thank you in Hungarian", which was nice that he really listened to my answer when he first asked where I was from. I didn't respond; I just said my thanks and waved until they pulled me out, and I was greeted with the exit screen. That was it. I closed the tab, put my laptop down and went to tell my family.

Looking back, I could have handled the whole situation a little bit better - for one thing, I should have thanked him for his time and this opportunity in those last seconds, not that I was ever going to out-polite a Brit -, but I genuinely enjoyed our conversation, and I felt like he did, too. I am so grateful to Williams F1 for making this happen! This is definitely one of those stories I will tell when I'm older. "That time when grandma accidentally flirted with an F1 world champion".

Thank you very much for reading this post. I hope you got something out of it. As for me, it happened a day ago, and I am still over the Moon. I know I haven't posted in a while, but I am going to the Hungaroring on the Friday of the Hungarian GP, so hopefully I will have something to post about! I love you guys.

Rebus T. Farkas

P.S: Just for fun, I decided to check out some AI suggestions on this post. Among some admittedly good advice, it was brought to my attention that the story arc has room for improvement. I write fiction in my free time, so I take this criticism very seriously. Therefore, I sincerely apologise for not having the emotional climax at the right time during a real-life event. In the future, I will make better life decisions to ensure I have my climactic moments at around the 90% mark of every conversation I have.